Sad Hour

Speakeasy Shuts Down Brewery Due to Financial Woes

It’s last call in the Bayview: Speakeasy is calling it a night because it ran out of money. According to a statement released today by the brewery, the San Francisco mainstay will cease operations indefinitely:

Difficulty securing capital investment and outstanding debt obligations led to this difficult and painful decision. The company’s primary creditor will determine the future of the brewery and brand, and no decision or further information is available at this time.

According to Speakeasy founder and CEO, Forest Gray, “The brewery has worked with multiple investment banking groups and have had numerous meetings. One fact has become central to the process, and that is the company is financially insolvent and requires new capital to move forward. Whether that will happen is unclear, but I do hope the brewery and brand will persist.”

Rumors have been circling among brewers and bartenders for the past few weeks about the Bayview-based brewery’s future. One source told Uptown Almanac that layoffs occurred approximately two weeks ago because the company could not make payroll.

That didn’t stop Speakeasy from releasing a new brew just four days ago, tragically and appropriately named “Murky Business IPA.”

There’s still time for Speakeasy fans to grab a six-pack of their favorite beers. According to the brewery, “the remaining inventory of Speakeasy Ales & Lagers beer has been shipped to distributors and will be available in local and international markets while supplies last.”

Comments (5)

It’s kinda weird that a beer company popular with the well off is going bust in a city where the money is pumped out in such large quantities, even the tech bros are complaining about the cost of living.

This hard and painful choice was made as a result of unpaid debt and difficulty obtaining capital investment. Regards from Nancy Carter

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